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What's your ideal border collie look like?


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We all know that appearance isn't the important part - at least I hope we do - and the dog inside is what matters, but I've seen a lot of people talk about preferences or having a soft spot for one sort of another.


So - what's your preference appearance wise?

 

I'll admit that my original preference was a small, light, traditionally marked rough coat with prick ears. At this point, though, I'm falling so hard for the smooth coats. Otherwise, saddle-back tris, I think, though I might still prefer that in a roughish coat. I still prefer prick or tipped ears, though.


I mean I'm never going to pick a dog on appearance and I'm not going to have another dog for ages, but there you go.

 

(I can't imagine why I have these preferences, given that Kylie's a creeping tan fluffy dog and Molly is Molly)

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My ideal border collie before I found Effie was a blue/red merle or lilac color with pointy ears. I find myself so obsessed with the nontraditional coloring! I'm hoping we can adopt another border collie like this in the future or find a breeder.

 

Effie is still my number one beauty inside and out! I love her so much! I know one day she will need a playmate so she doesn't drive our poor cat Thor insane!

 

post-16800-0-01886200-1413665474_thumb.jpgpost-16800-0-12597900-1413665475_thumb.jpg

 

 

 

 

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Eh, I have one dog that I consider downright ugly and I still love him and work with him. Molly was a downright disappointing looking puppy, but she was perfect inside her skin while her more my preference brother wasn't a good fit and stayed there.

 

Finding one dog prettier than another doesn't necessarily mean being sucked in by it or ignoring the right dog for you/the job or supporting a disreputable breeder/someone who breeds for it. Heck, I've all but lectured people on these boards about that before.


But I still have aesthetic preferences. As long as I'm not blind to what actually matters, I don't think that's a major problem. At least I hope not.

 

(But agreed, all around, that the color breeders are a MAJOR problem with the breed).

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My favorite look is the one I'm working right now.

This ^^^^

 

I'm very flexible and each new dog changes my preferences but if I had to answer the hypothetical question at present it would be a classically marked b/w short coat with pricked ears.

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We all know that it's the working ability that matters, but it's okay to dream sometimes! :)

 

I'm quite the sucker for those teeny tiny, bat eared, smooth coated, tricolor dogs. Luckily that's a combo that actually pops up in working dogs! Maybe some day I'll get my hands on one! (If it meets all criteria of being a working dog, of course). I won't lie though, I find merles (red in particular) beautiful. Too bad they're essentially always a result of color breeding.

 

But even though I have my preferences, I'm in love with my black and minimal white rough coated boy. The ears haven't decided yet, it'll be airplanes or one up one down I believe. And I literally believe that he is the most gorgeous dog on the planet.

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Eh, I have one dog that I consider downright ugly and I still love him and work with him. Molly was a downright disappointing looking puppy, but she was perfect inside her skin while her more my preference brother wasn't a good fit and stayed there.

 

Finding one dog prettier than another doesn't necessarily mean being sucked in by it or ignoring the right dog for you/the job or supporting a disreputable breeder/someone who breeds for it. Heck, I've all but lectured people on these boards about that before.

 

But I still have aesthetic preferences. As long as I'm not blind to what actually matters, I don't think that's a major problem. At least I hope not.

 

(But agreed, all around, that the color breeders are a MAJOR problem with the breed).

 

I agree with this. We all have aesthetic preferences for various things whether we admit to it or not.

 

I will admit that sable is my favorite. Tess is a sable and I think she's the most beautiful Border Collie in the world.

 

I have a soft spot for Red Merles, maybe one day I will rescue one. I won't say hopefully because in a perfect world, only reputable breeders will be producing Border Collies and none of them will need rescued.

 

I like traditional looking Border Collies with quirks. For example I love dark-faced dogs, black and white with little or no blaze. I also like white and split faces. Or dogs that are mostly black with odd shaped white patches.

 

I think Rook is one of the cutest puppies I have ever seen (can't remember his owners screen name).

 

I love love pricked ears.They are the best! I also like tipped ears, too.

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The best working dog, no matter what it looks like. :rolleyes:

 

ETA: Those rare color breeders are just so much of what's wrong with border collies today.

 

 

Is that because there are some breeders that just breed for color?? Most breeders I saw in Texas with the merle coats wanted them to go to competitive sports...so I guess they were breeding for color and competitive qualities. Is that necessarily a bad thing?

 

Is a merle considered a rare coat color? Reminded me of an Aussie so thought it was a common trait in some pups! I found a woman with beautiful red merle working dogs in South Texas who occasionally has a new litter of pups. If I were to get a merle one day it would be from someone who works them on a ranch or competitively...like where our Effie was from.

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Sports breedings aren't really better than breeding for show when it comes to border collies. The philosophy on this board is that border collies should be bred for work PERIOD, since the ability to work is what defines a border collie - not colors or coat or ears. So anyone breeding for appearances or rare coat types (or anything but working ability) is breeding for the wrong reasons. J

 

Merles do crop up from time to time in working bred BC, though, and there's certainly no shortage of them in rescues.

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I can't even begin to answer that question since it can change frequently - sometimes daily. :) I know some attributes that I DON'T like - heavy, rough show coats, heavy bone (i.e. like an Aussie or GR), short legs, nose stop and maybe a couple other characteristics that I can't think of right now. But that leaves open a wide range of phenotypes. I sort of liked split faces before, but now I REALLY like split faces after I fostered the sweetest little split-face girl. I love the whippety-looking body types (my current puppy), but also the muscular dogs. I could go on. I also think I am attracted to a certain look in their eyes - hard to define, but I know it when I see it.

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when I'm looking for a dog, the dream dog is a smaller, smooth black and white with a split or white face and prick ears. two times I've gone out-the 1st time I came home with a tri colored semi rough coat BUT with prick ears. the 2nd time I came home with a red tri, but a smoothie with prick ears. I'm an ear lover so upright ears are a must, all else is fairly negotiable. i find both of my collies to be very beautiful, of course.

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Is that because there are some breeders that just breed for color?? Most breeders I saw in Texas with the merle coats wanted them to go to competitive sports...so I guess they were breeding for color and competitive qualities. Is that necessarily a bad thing?

 

The combination of breeding for color and sports without primary consideration being given to true working (herding) ability is a very.bad.thing. It's a large part of what's diluting the gene pool for working ability. Sadly, many traditionally colored dogs are also being bred with little to no regard for working ability as well.

 

By itself, no color is a bad thing. But few of the candy colored dogs were bred with an eye to working ability first and foremost. So you're just not very likely to find that dream working red merle any time soon.

 

And yes, my dream dog would be a fantastic working small red merle with prick ears. She could have a split face, too. But I ain't holding my breath. :rolleyes:

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But border collies have a stop. Or do you prefer something with a rough collie or Sheltie type face?

Border Collies have some stop - My girl's nose is pretty sloped, honestly, but not quite as much as a rough collie.

 

But then there's this:

 

demi3.jpg

 

Which is more step than stop. Definitely more extreme than I see in most working bred dogs.

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Border Collies have some stop - My girl's nose is pretty sloped, honestly, but not quite as much as a rough collie.

 

But then there's this:

 

demi3.jpg

 

Which is more step than stop. Definitely more extreme than I see in most working bred dogs.

 

Yuk.

 

I don't like anything that makes me think of bred for show or superficial appearance and I have a particular dislike of over large and bulbous foreheads. I also dislike merles and other fancy colours for the same reason although I do have a soft spot for sables as I have had sables of other breeds. Wouldn't go looking for one though.

 

Having said that, I have considered the occasional rescue merle despite its appearance. Can't see me every getting a dog as lacking in the leg department as that photo though. There are limits.

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...It looks like a papillon (eyes and forehead). I like paps, mind, and think they're pretty, but. As paps.

 

ETA: I actually had to go track down that image to be sure it actually *was* a border collie. That dog's eyes/nose/forehead are all kinds of wrong.

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You mean you don't think this face is beautiful? It screams "great working border collie" to me....

 

attachicon.gifconorproface.jpg

 

You can't tell anything from a head shot. I have no opinion on that one. It neither repels nor attracts me as an image but I thought papillon too.

 

I have no wish to diss anyone's own dog I don't expect anyone else to find my dogs as beautiful as I do.

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